Alcaraz, Sabalenka ease into US Open third round; American players shine

Americans Ben Shelton, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Frances Tiafoe progress to the third round.Carlos Alcaraz took another solid step in his comeback from injury, while fellow defending champion Aryna Sabalenka also advanced to the third round of the US Open, as organisers heaved a sigh of relief after clearing a backlog of rain-delayed matches.Former winner Daniil Medvedev weathered an avian interruption to soar into the next round, with Americans Ben Shelton, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, and Frances Tiafoe all progressing on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Alex Eala cruises into US Open second round, top seed Zverev surviveslist 2 of 4‘Not a goodbye’: Tearful Federer inducted into Tennis Hall of Famelist 3 of 4Venus Williams bows out of US Open with straight-sets defeat to Sofia Keninlist 4 of 4Djokovic suffers shock first round exit at US Open amid tears and painend of listAlcaraz took centre stage in the evening session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the Spanish second seed dropped the opening set before blowing away Jaime Faria 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 with superb shot-making to ease any lingering fears about his wrist injury.“I wanted to be quick … I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz said after spending two hours and 40 minutes on court.“But at the end, I realised that I’m just playing four sets. It was really good for me to test everything physically, to test my body, how I feel, and tomorrow how I’m going to feel after this match, after four sets.”Sabalenka was even more impressive a short while earlier on the main showcourt, as the Belarusian crushed Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1, before bristling at a question about her appearances at pretournament events.“You guys are, like, a joke. Parties, fun … like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? What kind of question is that?” the world number one said.“Just because I posted, like, some activities with brands, and you think that I’ve been partying, not training?”Russia’s Polina Iatcenko (L) shakes hands with Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka after their match [Charly Triballeau/AFP]Medvedev, the 2021 champion, had his feathers ruffled in a 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory over US wildcard Sebastian Gorzny on Louis Armstrong Stadium when two birds landed on the net.